Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-03-12
ENGLAND'S NAVAL PLANS
EsyTNG FACTS BROUGHT
OIrT BY THE SCANDAL.

soorstarv whitney Explains the Course
~1,his Government i'm Purchasing Sue
sfu, Designs-The Power of the
Dr,tisb Mschtnery Double that of this
C.+rv - The British Authorities
ain yindicate this Governments
Honor.
WASHINGTON, March 1l.-SecretarY
Whitney to-day furnished a statement
+oucbinr the method employed by the
Navy Department to procure plans Tor
naval vessels and machinery. Concern-
ing gthe reported discharge OF Draugnts-
MON Terry at the Chatham dock yard,
ENGLAND. he SAYS: "There is no truth in
env abatement which connects the Navy
Department with ANYTHING clandestine IN
the way of obtaining plans abroad or
secrets of foreign governments. 1t is the
husine ss of every government to know
what implements of war are possessed by
others. together with their characters
tics and the information can be easily OBJ
tained. If the necessary trouble is taken,
~wi,hour the necessity OF fesorting 10 any
Questionable method"
WHITES DESIGNS.
R6latlVo 10 Tue PURCHASE Wy VIC uCpui u
ment of designs made by Chlef Construc-
tor White, of the English Admiralty.
Secretary Whitney says that Mr.. White
was not chief constructor wne0 he made
and the department purchased the de-
signs. but was in the employ of Sir VIII
liam Armstrong & Co. The Secretary
ouotes from Secretary Chandeliers annual
report for 1884, where he speaks in terms
of high commentator of the firm OF Arm
strong & Co., and ranks them as the first
among ship builders. He then proceeds
as follows: AFTER the construction of
the Esmeralda they built the Nani-Wa-
Kan for the Japanese government. which
was an improved Esmerada, and on her
trial she was reported to have made near
ly nineteen knots the highest speed d then
reached by any unarmored cruiser.
OBJECT OF THE PURCHASE.
81 decided to purchase the working
drawings OF this ship and her machinery
for the purpose Of placing them at the
disposal of our naval architects, to see by
what method they attained so much
greater speed over there than we were
able to reach here. While the matter
was being negotla ed, the Armstrong;, ),
through their naval architect, Mr.. White,
made a still later design which is called
No. q, which they offered in competition
to the Spanish government, from which
they guaranteed either 10 or 1917
knots speed { l forget for the moment
which,, the vessel being some " nat larger
than the Mani Wa-Kan. This design
was not rejected by the Spanish govern
ment although in the competition il did
not win, The Thompsons having agreed
to guarantee twenty knots speed upon
boat OF larger displacement, were given
the contract. and are now building the
boat FOL the spanish government.
NOT ADAPTED TO THIS COUNTRY.
"The boat which the Thompsons pro.
posed to the Spanish government was out
Of question for the United States. be-
cause it was too large IN tonnage and too
expensive to come within the limits fixed
oy the statutes, and l should not have
bought the plans Of that boat even a. the
same price. They were offered to us at
the price OF $4,000, which offer rejected,
and preferred the designs of the Arm
strongs and Mr.. White.
ACoNTRACT CLOSED,
~ finally closed contract for the nlans
OF TWO boats, the Mani -Wa-Kan and what
Is known as No. p, for S35, 900 less than it
Woulo nave cost to make them with our
own men, L think. 1t was for the pur-
pose OF laying before our people the very
IaCest improvements in the Wav of a last
oeet IN the world among private shin
Duilders OF this class Of boats. The ma
cnlnery of the Nani-Wa-Kan was a de-.
sign OF Hawthorne's, and that of No. 81 a
ueslgn OF Humphrys & Tenant, recop.
nlIeu as concerns ranking with the high
est IN England in the way OF marine
machinery.
REQUESTS FOR COPIES,
aver these plans had been received
nere was frequently applied to bv Cur
uip builders to let them have copies, IL
s. @s tne hrst time that detailed working
lSa".nss had been had of an entire ship.
h. 1nC ,I ~ Iueh occurred to me that it would
oe an excellent plan to reproduce the ma.
eainery oil these two vessels in two of Tho
i've shlps that we were about to huiId
anu luis course'was earnestly urged unon
nIoy Oy sup builders who examined the
tl"uo' Letters have been written tn mo
Ina ~ tnat enect by Mr.. Roach's EXPERT. Mr..
rr"Ioh' by the Harlan and Hollings worth
VWVnPahy, Cramp g. Sons, and the Union
co',' WAs' OF san Francisco. This was the
too!se tSe nhaIly adopted by me. MANY OF
cbana'd %dhsehehts OF the ships have been
bnt ~ co1lormlng them to our types,
uut tne machinery will be dunlicated ,n
'"o VI those tnat are not under contract
THE EFFECT.
The effect has,been In nv iudor,or. -
t%a "a' , .ue attention of our own people 70
sroct sre idct that We have not kent mn to a
per pon standard in the way OF PRODUCING
p"el VI machinery. In the case Of tho
ao,th toh ahd Atlanta, the guarantee Of Tho
actor was that with 664 tons az ma
IHhineIy Ne VIII produce 3, 800 horse novvar
~ guarantee OF the contra actor who 10
a., r.Pi,ouuelng the Nani-W a-Kan,s machin.
6on Is mat with 7l0 tons he viii produca
rr,'tars nurse power, and In the case oS
rna," n,oer NO. ., also foreign. the mgchineTv
suaIant9e is that with q00 tons q nno
be seop pVHet ,S shall be produced. 1t viii
erv IN snaI Tie effectiveness of macbin-
tI,on in producing horse power is nearly
tba tIe pat tnat required by the contract nnos
'oo Boston and Atlanta. '' op"n
49, BIG DIFFERENCE.
Ar,, in "a tuese latter cases one ton ofmaohi,
i've berna euaranteed TO produce Il little over
cruisars poWer' and In the cases OF
to nrod',os NOS and 3 q ton is guaranteed
tor V19ce nearly ten horse power nor
Lair it, All this, it will be seen. ia stipou l
ibsv ibuS S,,1, 10 our own people, and in the ana
vol VIII probably succeed in doin, as
~ VI better than these results shenv -
iops secretary characterlzps as rid,on.
sd,,o.tne tne IDEA that the denartn,~',,.
nf issIselnent soliciting the suhmissios
to hr'tshs can be regarded as an aito,,'t
ibis a oe foreign naval ofllcars All ~ ~
sim,PPo Poine ne says: "rhe adyertisan,,Ut
1SSa copied statute nassed -,
the "nlca provided that before onv &C. ~
s"c vessels harahv a,,.1. "u1 VI